The man was assaulted on camera; cops said they took action as the video went viral.
Five people were arrested in Rajasthan's Ajmer after a video, which was widely shared on social media, showed a man from Uttar Pradesh and his family being assaulted and abused, police said.
In the video, which has sparked huge anger, the accused can be seen hitting the Muslim man, accompanied by two children, and shouting at him. "Why have you come from Uttar Pradesh? Do you see any shrine here? I have seen their clip. They steal gold jewellery," one of the men is heard saying in the clip, accusing the man and his family of theft. "You do one thing... go to Pakistan. Are you a fakeer (beggar)? Let's check your pockets," he further says.
The accused then force the man - standing in a street outside a house - to give all the money he has. They also ask him to stop playing the music on the mobile phone's speaker as they are seen frisking him.
"A video shared on social media shot on August 20 (Friday) shows a beggar being thrashed by some men. While no FIR (first information report) was filed in this case, we took note of the incident ourselves. A probe was ordered," a police officer said.
"During the probe, we got to know that one man - Lalit Sharma - assaulted the beggar along with four others. While he was arrested on August 20, four others were arrested the next day. They were produced in the court. The accused said they assaulted the man because they were involved in some criminal activity, and they were seeking alms only to not get identified," he further said.
While all five accused were later released on bail, the key accused - Lalit Sharma - is believed to be a member of the right-wing outfit Vishwa Hindu Parishad.